Pretty Little Liars "A Dark Ali" Review: Flipping the Board

Picture it: Rosewood, 2014. A young girl with rosy cheeks and a terrible wig wandered through the woods with a plane ticket and some threats for a young man with a swoop of hair that rivaled her wig in terribleness. What a match they were. They reminisced, they scowled, they left each other with parting shots and a window sticker of what I think was Teddy Roosevelt in a straw hat playing the drums. That young man was Cyrus Petrillo. And that young girl is about to have her cord cut.

Quite the scenario that seems to be playing out as if it ever could. After two years and four and a half seasons of sliding the puzzle pieces around and trying to deduce her way out of being bullied, Spencer has come up with the brilliant plan of telling the truth. Just stop lying and tell the truth. Yeah, Shana is dead but that was because it was out of self defense. They honestly didn’t know Alison was alive until that fateful night when Pretty Little Liars tried to shill the heck out of the doomed Ravenswood. And almost everything those girls have done that was against the law has been in service of avoiding the wrath of extortion and bullying. I don’t know if Tanner will see them eye-to-eye on that last one but there are, indeed, bigger fish to fry.

Telling the truth is something we’ve talked about here before, how the girls can beat their bullies to the punch and take away all A’s ammo just by coming clean about everything. “The truth shall set you free” is the pithy way to say it. Although A specifically told them it won’t. But why would A give the victims good advice? It seems so thought out, reasoned, a moral to end this narrative. Stop it with the subterfuge and the secrets and everything else will work itself out. There’s just one problem and they put it in Aria’s mouth: “The truth doesn’t amount to much when it comes from a bunch of liars.”

Ladies and gentlemen, the premise of Pretty Little Liars.

Let’s unpack that a bit, shall we? Particularly in light of what our gal Alison is up to.

Superficially, it means exactly what Aria said: They are all renowned and suspicious secret-keepers so who will trust their story? They may be bringing evidence but none of it absolves them of being involved from the beginning. Maybe they just team up the Convincing One with the One That’s Hardest to Disappoint (Because of It’s About the Eyes) and win Tanner over with sheer charisma. Let’s say that was a possibility.

The deeper, darker theme in Aria astute observation is that there’s a reason why they’re lying, like, all the time. There’s a reason why we have to watch Aria and Emily maunder their way through fields of bull crap in order to get to some uninspired invention for their weird behavior. It’s the same reason that Spencer needed to pop pills to piece together puzzles and why Hanna finds herself hopping from one kind of binge to another. A makes them lie. And whenever A makes them lie, A has dirt on them. Alison, being back in town, had the biggest secret of all and A made her tell the most incriminating lie in the show to date. It’s how this machine keeps operating.

What I’m saying is that even if they tell the truth, A has demonstrated the forethought to make them pay for that indiscretion, the advanced chess move if you will. The problem the Liars have always had is that they can’t see the board. It’s all Spencer so desperately wants is to, just for a brief, shining moment, look at the board and the pieces and to see what moves are out there while the other Liars are just constantly reacting. For her, telling the truth is like clearing the board, flipping it over like a four-hour game of Monopoly because you know you can’t win. Spencer doesn’t think she can win this game because she can’t see the other pieces. It’s not like they’re playing Battleship.

It would've been way more fun if they were playing Hungry Hungry Hippos.

But they weren't playing with marble-eating ungulates, they were playing the King’s Game and Spencer has been given options. Her plan to tell the truth is flipping the board but Melissa is giving her an out. She can just push away from the table and go find another game. Travel through so many ports of call that A can’t find them. She can make the most of that gap year with what I suppose is an endless supply of capital coming from the zero cases the Hastings adults have been working on lately. It doesn’t seem like a terrible plan as long as Melissa isn’t A. Otherwise it’s definitely a terrible plan.

So does Spencer play the game? Does she flip the board, or does she walk away? Well, with Ali skulking around the woods in her bad wig, it’s going to have to be the former, at least for now.

It should have been assumed that Ali would come up with a plan with two years to think about coming back to Rosewood and out-manipulating her manipulator. The reason why she hasn’t let her compatriots in on her plan is the biggest mystery, however. We again wrestle with the show never making the decision for us on how we’re supposed to feel about Alison, for which I commend them and curse them.

We saw the flashbacks of her with Cyrus the Future Kidnapper during her lost years, and how he stabbed her and took her stuff, but, if bringing him back to Rosewood was all part of Alison’s plan, how reliable is she as a narrator? Was what we saw in the flashbacks actually true or part of how she’s able to lie so effectively (by making herself believe it’s true)? Whatever the case may be, her overarching plan to keep herself (and possibly her friends) out of trouble is surely going to interfere with Spencer’s plan to come clean. And her secret-secrets are only driving a bigger wedge between her and the other Liars. I would venture to say it’s doing a number between her and the audience, too. Here’s hoping it all pays off.

Just two weeks until the #FAtalFinale (what a hashtag) and we have quite the climax building. As the Liars are now completely disillusioned by Alison and her game escalation, all of them ready to cut the cord (they even said the words!). The Dark Ali (get it? Because Vivian Darkbloom wears that wig? They kill me) clearly has something cooking. And then there’s Mona trying to figure everything out, too. Please. Please can we just get an episode where Spencer and Mona just sit in a room together and work the whole thing out? Let the other Liars flit around with their S.O. business for a while as Spencer retreats to Mona’s newest Mona Cave and they lift themselves up high enough to see the board. I think that’ll make everyone oh so happy.

NOTES

– I suppose it makes sense that Mr. D was dead-set on getting Alison to identify Cyrus as the kidnapper so that his daughter would finally feel safe. However, it seemed shady that no one put it together that he corroborated Alison’s story, even though Tanner didn’t think Alison's story was true and there was no other evidence available against him other than Alison saying, “Yeah, that’s the guy.” I feel like there’s an amendment against this. Like, in the first ten or so.

— The Montgomery women are having a lot of trust issues lately. One with a man who is disturbingly into underaged girls. And then Ella with her ex-fiancee. ZING! Oh man, I feel like it’s been a while since I called Ezra a creep. But he’s not helping himself any by lying to Aria (even if him talking to Alison was spur of the moment) when he’s still in the doghouse for that whole two-years-of-surveillance thing. Also: weird exchange between Ezra and Ali, right?

— #Haleb are starting to finally get it together, particularly in respect to Caleb’s diet. That brownie thing was one of the saddest cries for help I’ve seen on this show.

— Spencer on Hanna trying to jog away from her: “I’m faster than you and I have a car!”

— How about Janel Parrish and her pipes? How about Hanna is at all interested in singing?

— Why was that painting in the funeral home in Ali’s Basement of Bad Memories? I mean, it makes sense for weird paintings to be in funeral homes. If television has taught me anything, funeral homes are dens of macabre humor and dysfunctional families so the painting makes sense there. But the basement of one of Rosewood’s many abandoned industrial buildings? What?

– Spencer and her puzzling snacks:

– Hanna to Mona: “Ali brings out the A in you.”

– Two consecutive weeks of Emily telling someone off. It's almost like she has backbone or something.

– This shot of Aria and a pig puppet was included with the promotional photos for this episode. It's up to you to make sense of it.

– Melissa is going to record a confession of sorts for Spencer? At least we have that to look forward to.

– Your Moment of A: A folds clothes (several hoodies and that ever-present candy-striper uniform) while watching a dog show. Anonymous bullies: They’re just like us!

I dont know if anyone already mentioned it, but especially in this episode it was very evident - the "round forms" of Ali and how the camera tried to hide it. I guess it has nothing to do with the plot, but it made me think about Hanna and how things changed for the best for her when Ali was gone

Melissa: We'd rather snoop on each other than ask the questions!
Spencer: *all the questions* FACE. TO. FACE.
Melissa: ...I can't tell you...
Spencer: This, bitch, is why, the security camera and all the snooping.

You could at least be honest about your shadiness Melissa...

It would be too much to hope that the Liars actually take everything to the police though, right?

It would be too much. Though it seems like the rational thing to do in order to disempower A, we also have to consider (a) A has already planned for this eventuality and has something in place to keep the Liars from this End Game move, (b) A won't be deterred by the truth being out there and will find some way to twist the truth out of the Liars' favor, or (c) Alison's scheme will find a way to trump the Liars' scheme and they won't end up going to the police lest everything is ruined.

Really, the only way they're going to get rid of A is to send a satellite up to outside the Earth's orbit and blow the planet up with a death ray. It's the only way to to be sure.

I'm happy to see the girls finally realizing that they need to cut the cord with Ali. Regardless of her motivations, the writers haven't done enough to truly make her sympathetic. Now, the flashback with Cyrus could have worked towards that angle. But then to turn around and have them meeting completely makes her an unreliable narrator so I can't even trust that the flashback is real, thus losing all sympathy for her. And since she's completely willing to go rogue and potentially throw the girls (who have MORE than gone out of their way for her) under the bus, they need to cut the cord.

I like that we still see Aria being hesitant with Ezra, and isn't willing to just completely overlook everything that he's done over the last couple of years. And I like Mona being brought back into things and her "working" with Hanna. I have missed those two together.

It'll be interesting to see how who the girls turn to in these last couple episodes. New alliances and battles lines definitely seem to be in the immediate future.

I have no idea what to say about this episode.
What is Alison's game? At this point, it wouldn't surprise me if instead of going with the twin theory, PLL decided to have Ali have multiple personality disorder. Ali is the scared girl we've seen who is genuinely afraid of someone in pursuit of her, but she is also the very person she's running from, A.
Melissa and Spencer have the most ridiculous conversations ever. Everything is so dramatic, tense, emotional, and loaded with unspoken threats. It's no wonder Spence had to check into a mental institution! Also, why is Mel such a lurker? If you saw your sister snooping around your room/apartment/barn, why would you not just go in and call them out, instead of hiding in the dark in the kitchen and popping out to ambush them like a horror film cliché.
Cutting ties with Ali and telling the cops the truth are the best ideas these 4 have ever had. And it sure worked out well for them in the books, so I have no doubt it'll be just as successful in the show!

They say they wanna cut ties but that i'd say is their biggest fantasy yet cause definitely something will surely bring them back they are deep into the shit than they actually realise, Hannah is sure giving me the attitude I have been expecting. Lets just wait and see how long and how far Alison's game will take her.

Well finally they cut ties with Ali... I know they are not going to come clean with Tanner because something it's gonna happen but they have my interest now and the thing are going in motion for the summer finale

Listen, can wig masters from The Americans drop by and give some advice on proper wig making and use?

Otherwise interesting to see it's not just Hannah willing to call Ali out on her BS. Of course it will all blow in liears' faces and will end up in even bigger troubles and covering even more. But at least they'll not just sit there and accept their fate but rather go out and be proactive

it's a mystery, i guess we'll never know the answer to that one or who A is, considering the show has like two more seasons to go and still counting, we are going to see PLL playing highschool girls in their Nursing Home at this rate

Definitely a possibility (since the show started in 2009 and it's been two years). Much stronger than my other theory that there is no time in Rosewood and everyone we see is dead. Have we floated the idea that this may all be Purgatory yet?

Show started in 2010 actually, and the girls were just beginning their junior year. They started their senior year at the beginning of season 3, so it must still be 2011 seeing as Christmas hasn't even come yet. Remember it was Halloween in episode 13 of season 3, meaning the last 45 episodes of this show have taken place from November-early December 2011!
Your Purgatory theory is much more realistic than the writers expecting us to believe that 2 entire seasons worth of episodes have taken place in a month and a half. lol

Ah, yes, you're correct. Premiered in 2010 (started casting in 2009 -- this is why I shouldn't be in charge of fact-checking).

Also, yes, we've had almost two seasons that've taken place in about a month and a half. It's also late-winter in Pennsylvania and we haven't seen snow or even an indication that the weather has turned frosty. Rosewood is in a vortex where the anxiety of these girls is slowing things down. So many events are happening so often that we're in some kind of Stoic paradox: the distance between 0 and 1 is infinite because distance can increment a decimal place smaller so the distance between Halloween and Christmas may be just as infinite. What they perceive as days are merely tricks of the light. Spencer's pill-popping saga was really only a matter of minutes. Time is a construct and, apparently, Rosewood is Under the Dome (if you watch that show -- if you don't, you should read Tim's reviews anyway).

AND what if we actually started in the future? What if time is slowing down just so that we, the audience, can catch up with the Liars? They've always been the graduating class of 2015, Aria and Ezra met in a bar in 2013, and we're just now getting to where they have always been? Or what if the Liars and A are just timeless gods existing in a cosmic vacuum impervious to the effects of time and space? What if Ravenswood really is magic and has encapsulated Rosewood and they live really fast but the show slow things down for us so we can understand? What if we're beyond time? Is this a flash sideways?

I have no idea why Rosewood time is messed up. It's 2011 on the show but why were they going to Frozen sing alongs? The whole Spencer finding out Toby is A and going crazy was probably only two days in Rosewood time. It makes no sense.

I've noticed some of the Iphones they have in the show specifically Ali's is the one of older models. If they lived in 2014 they would definitely have the latest versions of phones. I've been carefully watching to see if there's anymore hints of what year it actually is in the show but I think its safe to say its 2011

"Hanna- Are you seriously running away from me? I'M FASTER THAN YOU AND I HAVE A CAR!" X'D

Those kinds of conversation are one of the very, very few reasons I still watch the show! With all the plot holes, missing logic and the fact why someone is so bored that he/ she has to bully some teenage girls for years now, I truly enjoy the snarky comments which feel like a break to me!

Seems like the writers MIGHT follow the twin story- even though I hope not! To me the most interesting plot would be that Ali is schizophrenic without knowing it. :) I highly doubt that it'll end that way, but IMO it'd be awesome and the only character trait of Ali's I would actually find interesting.

I don't believe that Caleb is already off his depression train. I think he's more like "conceal, don't feel" right now...

And I actually loved the Mona/Hanna team work! Okay, Hanna didn't do anything, but I was watching them like "Now kisssss!" XD But srsly, I was kinda excited. I can see them working more together to get behind Ali's secrets...

Aria is playing with a puppet. A pig. Relating to pigskin, Paige's nickname from Ali. Means that Aria and Paige are working together to bring Ali down! Aria for what Ali did to Ezra and Paige for what Ali did to Emily and her! ARIA IS REVEALING THE TRUE A ON THIS PICTURE! Herself and Paige as her handyman (-woman?)! Seems legit. Case closed! Call me Tanner 2.0!

Spencer: Is somebody making you do something that you don't want to do? Are you trying to run away?
Melissa: Is this what this has come to? Searching each other's rooms looking for answers to questions that we're too afraid to ask?

And then literally half a minute later...

Spencer: What did you do, Melissa? And I'm asking you to your face this time.
Melissa: I can't tell you, not yet.
Spencer: You're my sister! Does that mean nothing to you?
Melissa: It means you should know that honesty does not come easy for this family.

And this, dear friends, is how you play mental hide and seek. No one tells others what is going on, or asks questions that are needed even though this is what they should do to solve their issues. And then when someone finally does ask the right questions, people refuse to answer citing some lame excuse.

It's the bread and butter of shows containing MacGuffins or where the premise requires limited perspective. Either the main characters aren't inquisitive enough with the appropriate people or everyone engages in some level of evasion that our heroes just accept. Rosewood is a universe where there are no follow-up questions.

Can I just say, while I hope the girls do go through with it, can they please talk to Spencer's mom? We all now know she is not a bad guy, but she's a lawyer. I am really more worried about Aria here sticking with the self defense position, it might have been, but did she see the gun? Negligent involuntary manslaughter probably keeps her out of jail more effectively. And weirdly, she might notice that it is Aria that is the one who should be the main narrator as the other girls, well, Spencer spazzes, Hanna gets freaked out, and Emily can't spit out a sentence.

I am really having an issue sorting out Ali's game. And I apparently really don't care about her because I took far too long to recognize her.

So, Mona. I am also trying to factor you in and that might be what is confusing me. Getting our four liars to cut the cord with Ali was kind of the point of your game. That has been accomplished. So, was Mona just piggy backing on a mistake of Ali's? You know in sending the A messages that were the final straw for Spencer. Or is she just as confused at all of this as the rest of us?

I think this was the second best ep of the season.The girls finally acting smart? About time!They 're finally teaming up against Alison?I've been waiting for that since the season premiere!And Spence is back!I don't know where she's been all season,but she's back and at her best!!But the most awesome thing about this ep,was Hanna and Mona.I would have jumped at the opportunity of watching Spence and Mona working together back in season 3,but watching two people who would never trust each other completely ad yet,have a common understanding working together is so much better!And Hanna has been the season's MVP,so...
Nick,I don't think the show ever tried to confuse the audience about Ali.I think the writers' intent was for the audience to see through Ali but the Liars not yet being able to,because of their baggage. I'm not saying it was executed perfectly,I think the Liars should have woken up a long time ago,but it's ok.That's why I don't see why we should even ask ourselves if Alison is an unreliable narrator.We already know that.
I didn't believe a word Alison said to the girls in the season 4 finale.My theory since that episode is that Ali is A.OK,with all the As we've seen so far,this statement is a bit confusing so,let me put it like this:
*I don't think there was an A who threatened Alison like Mona was threatening the girls in seasons 1&2.My theory is that Ali never got texts and all the clues the girls have found suggesting otherwise had been planted by Ali.Wasn't the episode that we saw Ali getting a text titled 'The First Lie'?What happened years ago was that Ali got either very scared by someone or very pissed at someone.Enough to fake her death,disappear for a while and return for revenge when the timing was right.She never got hit in the head,she's the one who killed that girl and that was what her mother saw and Ali had a hand in her death as well (although not 100% sure about that.).This season's A (I can't remember much about season 4,so I'm not counting it) is Ali.She's the one sending the texts,because she's the one who wins if the truth doesn't come out.Why would Ali's bully keep the girls from saying sth that is incriminating his or her biggest enemy?
*A is for Antagonist.She's the one who is in the way of the Liars doing what's best for them and forces them into actions that get them into more trouble than the lie they're trying to cover up would. For this season,at least,that's Alison!So,I agree with Spencer about coming clean.There is no way that the Liars (especially Aria) will come out of it unscathed,but it is better for them to tell their story,to pay for their own actions than for Ali's mistakes.
*After five seasons and a few different As and motives,maybe we should not associate A with a person who wears a hoodie anymore.In my opinion,the Hoodies have not texted the girls once and are working against Ali not them.
I hadn't posted in a while and I couldn't stop writing!I hope this doesn't take up the entire comment section!
What do you guys think about my A theory?

That painting that ali stared at in the funeral home, and that was in the basement while she was on the run was also in the fitzgeralds museum thingy in a season 2 or 3 episode, theres a shot of aria just staring at it. My mind was blown when I noticed that. Like seriously, whats the deal with the painting?

Good catch! I remembered the other painting Aria was looking at (with the glowing dancer) but forgot about the one with Ezra's grandparents' name on it. For anyone that wants to go back and watch it, it's in Season 3, Episode 8 (and here's Louis Peitzman's review of "Stolen Kisses").

Why didn't Emily mention Aria, but all the other girls, when talking about all the terrible things A has done to them? And I'm also starting to believe more in the twin theory after the last clip with "Alison" and Cyrus.

Ali seemed not so innocent in the last scene with Cyrus. I honestly think she isn't A ,and that she wants out of this mess but that she would ditch the girls if she had a chance. It's just that right now, she needs them .Also , to be a good liar , she lives her lies-she pays Noel to break into Hanna's house, she pays Cyrus to play her kidnapper. And yet , she seems so vulnerable and innocent all the time.
Spencer was right-telling the truth for a change might be the thing to set them free from A. But then again, there won't be a show. Aria dealing with her Ezra drama-Girl, you'll never trust a guy who spied on you and your friends for years to write a book about your ''dead'' friend . I loved that Emily finally got tired of protecting and saving Ali and decided to save herself and the friends who have actually been there for her. Hanna and Caleb were adorable again and trying to avoid the drama made sense ,although of course it didn't work. I just hope Caleb doesn't turn out to be lying about something. Where was Toby this week? Maybe training for the police academy..Mona is always fun to watch who knew she could sing as well? Oh, and whatever it is Melissa will finally reveal , i hope it sticks [ hmm Ezra and Toby anyone] and that it's actually a big reveal not just coded messages.
As for the FatAl finale-i am not holding my breath. The show seems to always have some kind of Fatal finale or big reveal but it never actually reveals anything or sticks with what it does reveal. Last year it was EzrA ..and it turned out he was not that bad ... i still think it would've been awesome if he was A , but hey Ezria forever right? [insert sarcasm]

Well incase anyone forgot, Melissa has a secret! you guys its a really really intense secret. So intense she needs to go back to London or something.

Why did Melissa have to make a video, someone will probably steal before Spencer sees? couldn't she have just walked back into the house and told Spencer? Why can't Alison just tell the other's her ridiculously complex and convoluted plan? Also, how does Alison have the resources to track down a drifter, on short notice, and buy him a plane ticket (bus ticket?)? Does this guy even have an ID? Do we think they will ever mention choir again or is it a thing now? Perhaps a chance to backdoor Lucy Hale's country music aspirations? Or is Ashely Benson going the pop star route now too?

So many questions, so little time, and frankly who even cares about the answers anymore?

The other questions I have no idea how to answer except to say you're almost four and a half seasons into this show and I think the show expects you to be so invested that you should be an expert in leaps of faith and total disbelief suspension by now.

The choir thing however: they're hammering us with it now so that it makes sense for them to be singing in the Christmas special (which is taking the place of the Halloween special -- for ABCFamily's 13 Days of Halloween they're running a "catch-up" kind of episode). That's why they're singing Christmas songs in August.

Though, yeah, I'm really surprised Aria wasn't the one trying out for the solo, given that Lucy Hale all over the singing thing, particularly nowadays. Like, she's REALLY into it.

Fair point, yes usually I am more then accepting of the PLL logical continuity craziness, but some episodes it just really bugs me for no particular reason. I think mostly I am just tired of characters like Melissa being used for nothing then "fake drama". Like she doesn't do anything but secretly meet people and talk in vague statements or whispers, then disappear again for episodes on end.

Oh that makes some sense, I still keep forgetting it is fall in Rosewood and that is has been for a season or so. Didn't they already do a Halloween special though for this same Rosewood time period? Meaning has the last 20-30 episodes taken place in November/early December?? Or like you said, I guess it doesn't really matter at this point.

Maybe Hanna (or whoever gets the solo) will have a Mean Girls christmas pageant moment and Aria will step in an to save the day and wow everyone with her incredible voice and country rendition of Santa Baby.

Now I'm think Alison killed the girl and killed her mom when her mom won't cover for her anymore. I don't think we can believe anything we've seen or learned from alison so her story about her mom burying her is probably a lie.

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